Nibs to the Highest Bidder

Seems like for a while there, every school and sport my kids were involved with was soliciting donations for silent auctions. Another successful item was simply offering to address a hundred envelopes--invitations, announcements, or holiday cards. Good practice for me, a little cash for the school. This was the display set up at the fundraising event. The green envelope is done in Dr. Ph. Martin's Bleedproof White, the ecru envelope in J. Herbin Nuages Gris. Both are Italic hand.

Mission (Statement) Accomplished

The mission statement at my kids' alma mater, Marin Academy, is oft-quoted and central to the life of the school, so it seemed like a good idea to render it calligraphically for an auction item at their fundraiser a few years back. It's a potpourri of Uncial, Italic, Copperplate, my own scribbly handwriting, and some bits of stamped color and gold ink. The large Italic was done using my rinse water as ink. By cutting the mats myself I was able to make it fit into a stock frame size, which saved custom framing costs.

I don't remember exactly how much the piece went for, but it was a respectable sum. I was later asked to make a similar piece as a tribute to the Head of School's tenth anniversary (two different mattings here, not sure which one we settled on)...

...and another to honor a founding Trustee.

Paperweight of the World

I'm always looking for little gifty ideas that involve calligraphy, and this was a pretty simple one. I purchased crystal dome paperweight blanks, which come with pre-glued felt ready to finish off the bottom. A few strokes of the pen with walnut and gold ink, a pretty coin from Buenos Aires, and I had a little keepsake to give a fellow traveler. The same company sells glass coaster blanks as well.